This article is so black and white and elitist to add practically no value to the public school debate.
I have two middle schoolers in an affluent public school district and our experience is very different. There are many motivated teachers constantly tweaking their approach to keep students engaged. If anything, I'd want more structure in our schools.
The much bigger issue is that alternative schooling approaches work only with a high degree of involvement from parents and the community. Do we really thing "Sudbury Valley" schools would work in inner cities or the deep South? I rather think parents are glad to have someone keep their kids out of trouble while they work overtime to scrape by.
Also, self-motivated learning gets you only so far. Without some external pressure I don't think most kids would decide to study calculus or statistics or other dry but important topics.
I have two middle schoolers in an affluent public school district and our experience is very different. There are many motivated teachers constantly tweaking their approach to keep students engaged. If anything, I'd want more structure in our schools.
The much bigger issue is that alternative schooling approaches work only with a high degree of involvement from parents and the community. Do we really thing "Sudbury Valley" schools would work in inner cities or the deep South? I rather think parents are glad to have someone keep their kids out of trouble while they work overtime to scrape by.
Also, self-motivated learning gets you only so far. Without some external pressure I don't think most kids would decide to study calculus or statistics or other dry but important topics.